Want to eat lunch together?
by melry
Summary: fem!Kuroko x Murasakibara. Kuroko learns that there is more to Murasakibara than he seems to everyone else. / A re-upload of an old story.


**This is a re-upload of an old story I wrote. **

**Summary: ****fem!Kuroko x Murasakibara. **Kuroko learns that there is more to Murasakibara than he seems to everyone else. 

l

Despite his abnormally tall height compared to others his age, Murasakibara was actually very kind and gentle to those he cared about. It's just that others judge him based on his appearance first. They found him frightening and not even trying to get to know him, they would run off if they see him approaching them.

Murasakibara may not seem like it, but he was actually very sad about it. He tried to hide his sadness by keeping on a uncaring expression on his face and munching on snacks constantly.

But Kuroko knew about it. Although they only interacted during basketball practice, she had an urge to befriend him. She didn't like how he said such discouraging things to other players, but there must be a reason for it, a reason that she wanted to understand. He didn't seem as bad as others portrayed him to be.

During lunch one day, Kuroko found Murasakibara sitting against a tree. And as always, he was eagerly eating snacks.

Kuroko called out as she walked up to him, "Hello, Murasakibara-kun."

"Hm?" Murasakibara stopped eating and looked up. Then he noticed Kuroko. "Oh, hi, Kuro-chin."

She asked politely, "Want to eat lunch together?"

Mursakibara merely shrugged. "Fine by me."

Kuroko sat down on the grass next to Murasakibara. She took out her lunch. She looked at its contents. There was no way she could finish all of it. Then she looked at Murasakibara. She said to him, "I made my lunch, but I think I made too much food. I don't think I can eat it all by myself. Do you want some?"

"Okay."

l

The next day, during lunch break once again, Kuroko went to the same place to eat at.

"Kuro-chin, you're here again?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"No, it isn't."

Kuroko looked around. There weren't any students near the place Murasakibara sat at. She asked, "Do you always eat lunch by yourself?"

Murasakibara nodded.

"Don't you get lonely?"

"As long as I have food, it doesn't bother me."

Kuroko wondered how much of that statement was the truth, but she didn't ask any further.

l

And during a lunch break and day that was days after that.

Kuroko pointed out, "It seems that we don't have practice today."

"That's rare," Murasakibara muttered between mouthfuls of food. "We never really had days off because of how strict the coach and Aka-chin are."

"Want to come with me to the convenience store after school, Murasakibara-kun? You can buy candy there, if you'd like, of course." She thought he was going to reject the offer since he didn't seem the type to socialize out of school much.

To her surprise, he replied with a "Sure."

l

Several hours later, Kuroko stared at the huge stash of candy in front of her that Murasakibara had brought with him to the cashier. She asked, "Can you really afford all that?"

"Yup," Murasakibara replied.

Actually, the question she should be asking was whether or not he should eat all that. That was what Midorima would have asked him. It was true that Kuroko had an unhealthy obsession with vanilla milkshakes herself, but she didn't nearly consume as much of it or any other junk food as much as Murasakibara did.

Then she looked at Murasakibara, who was staring at the candies happily.

Ah, since he looked so happy about it, she guessed it was alright. She couldn't help but think that he appeared adorable with that cheerful look on his face. Unknown to him, she was smiling slightly as she watched him.

l

Kuroko and Murasakibara were walking together to basketball practice during a weekend.

It was by chance and pure coincidence that Kuroko had saw Murasakibara hanging out at the arcade, playing one of those claw machines where one could win a prize, such as a stuff animal. She asked him if he wanted to walk together, and he agreed, so here were they now, walking together alone. They chatted about trivial things as they did so, trying to pass the time.

In no time at all, they arrived at the school, and they headed for the gym.

Some fellow Teikou students were walking by, and saw them approaching them, or more specifically, they noticed Murasakibara.

They stepped away in fright when Murasakibara came closer. One of them even yelled out, "Get away from us, you monster!"

Kuroko mentally frowned at the name-calling. That was uncalled for, yet Murasakibara seemed unfazed by it. She stepped in front of Murasakibara, and said immediately, "Take that back."

The student answered, "What?"

"I said take that back. It isn't nice to call him a monster when he haven't even done anything to you," Kuroko explained. She kept a blank expression on, yet her voice was tinted with a monotonous anger.

"But he is! Just look at him! How many people do you see who are as freakishly tall as him? He's only a middle schooler, too!"

Kuroko narrowed her eyes. Murasakibara may be taller than average, but he was definitely not a monster. She wanted to tell them that, but then Murasakibara placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to face him, and he was shaking his head, signaling to her that he didn't want her to get involved anymore.

She wanted to protest. However, Murasakibara was giving her a pleading look in his eyes, and she found herself unable to. She reluctantly relented and kept silent. She watched as the other students run off to the other side of the street.

Then a dreadful thought came to her mind. She inquired, "Do people always call you that?"

"..."

His silence confirmed it. Kuroko dreaded that. She never knew that people treated him like this. It was awful. "Murasakibara-kun..." Then she trailed off and the next action she did surprised him.

Shock spread across Murasakibara's face when he saw Kuroko hugging him, her slender arms wrapped around his waist and her face on his torso.

"You're not a monster," she said to him, her eyes looking up at him directly. "Please don't let anybody else make you think otherwise."

Murasakibara froze for a bit, but then eventually he started to tremble, and Kuroko knew that this has had affected more than he had let on in his reaction. He whispered quietly, "I-I know."

Kuroko closed her eyes as she leaned against him. Murasakibara was warm. Would a monster let anyone hug them like this? Would a monster be shaking from hurt because someone had called them a monster?

She didn't speak up when she heard quiet sobs emulating from him.

And would a real monster cry and feel so alone in the world?

No, Kuroko thought, they wouldn't.

* * *

Maybe it was because the overwhelming curiosity was getting more and more difficult to handle, but Kuroko decided to ask Murasakibara the question she had always wanted to ask him, "Murasakibara-kun, why do you hate those who play basketball with a passion? You love basketball, too, right?"

"No," Mursakibara answered. "I don't like basketball," he said bluntly. "I already told you that I only play it because I'm good at it."

"That can't be true. Why would you try so hard during practice and games?" The way Murasakibara was so committed to their training menu every time they had basketball practice implied that he had at least liked basketball. He wouldn't put so much effort into something he didn't have an interest in. There had to be a reason why Murasakibara acted how he did with other basketball players.

She knew it was none of her business, yet she asked anyway, "Did something happen to you in the past?"

Murasakibara didn't reply, but she could see the tensing of his shoulders, and she knew that she had struck a chord.

She said quickly, "I'm not going to ask what happened." Then she added, "But if you ever want to tell someone, you can tell me."

Murasakibara stayed silent. However, she could see that he was thinking about it.

l

"It happened when I was young, back in elementary school."

Kuroko stopped eating when she heard Murasakibara say that. She moved her lunch away and stared intently at him, telling him that he had her full attention.

"Nothing really bad happened, but...These kids I met invited me to play a game of street basketball. The other kids were scared of me because of my height, but they weren't, so I was really happy when they asked. I said yes, and we won the game."

"But after that, I found out they only asked me because I'm tall. They needed me to win. That was the only reason, nothing else."

"People are either scared of me or come to me because I'm good at basketball. It's as simple as that."

"That's not true."

"I mean, it's true that you're good at basketball, but that's not the only thing good about you." "I don't find you scary at all, even though you're tall enough to squash me like a bug. You're very cute when you eat snacks, and these past days..I found out that there are many sides to you. You're kinder and gentler than you look."

If more people knew about that, Kuroko would have liked to think that they would have treated him differently.

l

For Kuroko, eating lunch with Murasakibara became a daily routine. They had more conversations with each other in the past weeks than the whole time they have been in the basketball team together. They became more friendly toward each other, which wasn't something that Kuroko thought was possible before because of their conflicting ideals in basketball. They were closer than ever, and that made her feel all giddy and happy inside.

The other Generation of Miracles didn't fail to notice the change during practice. While they watched Kuroko and Murasakibara talking with each other at the other side of the court, Kise whispered to the others, "Hey, don't you think there's something different between Kurokocchi and Murasakibaracchi?"

"Duh, it's obvious that they are more talkative with each other. It's weird, though. It just happened all of a sudden in the past weeks."

Akashi agreed, "They didn't like each other much in the past. I have to admit it's suspicious."

Midorima deadpanned, "Maybe they're in a relationship."

That silenced the others, and they immediately turned to look at their green-haired teammate. They all repeated to him, "A relationship?"

"Yes, it's possible."

They all seemed to think over this for a moment longer before Aomine shook his head. "No way. I can't imagine Tetsu and Murasakibara going out."

Kise said, a frown marring his face, "I can't either."

Akashi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Even if we can't imagine it, Midorima is right. It is possible that they're dating."

They all nodded at each other.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the court, Murasakibara and Kuroko were looking at them.

Kuroko asked, "What do you think they're talking about?"

Murasakibara shrugged. "Who knows."

l

After practice, when Murasakibara and Kuroko were walking home together, they took a stop at a an ice cream parlor. A wave of confusion troubled her when Kuroko noticed that Murasakibara had been acting a little odd. "What's wrong?"

Murasakibara fidgeted. He wasn't even eating snacks, which was very, very strange, indeed. Usually, one would see him with snacks all the time, except for bathroom breaks and basketball practice, of course. "Kuro-chin," Murasakibara said with an uncharacteristic nervousness seeping in voice. "Will you go out with me?"

Kuroko blinked and then blinked again, and once the question had fully registered in her mind, the corners of her lips went up, forming a smile. New feelings had formed, and she wondered if this was what it was like to like someone. Whatever it was, she knew that she had thought of Murasakibara of more than just a friend since some time ago. "Yes."

She enjoyed seeing Murasakibara's nervous expression morph into happiness as his eyes widened. The next thing she knew, Murasakibara closed the distance between them, and she found themselves kissing.

Then they broke apart, and Kuroko laughed quietly. "You taste sweet, like candy, Murasakibara-kun."

He pouted. "I can't help it."

"Don't worry, I don't mind."

Then Murasakibara gathered her up his arms, carrying her princess-style, and twirled around, a happy sound escaping his throat as he did so. Kuroko panicked a bit. They were in public and having Murasakibara twirl around while holding her in his arms in front of any passing pedestrian that walked by made her face heat up and blush in humiliation. "Murasakibara-kun, t-this is embarrassing! Put me down!"

Murasakibara laughed. "Okay, okay, I will."

* * *

Since they were officially a couple, Kuroko and Murasakibara decided to tell their friends.

So, at the beginning of a practice session at the gym, Murasakibara proudly announced while Kuroko's arm wrapped around his own, "Kuro-chin and I are dating."

Midorima pushed his glasses up. He was the first to answer, "I knew it."

"Oh my god." Kise's eye were wide. He said dramatically, "They're dating!"

Aomine raised an eyebrow at Kise and asked, "Why are you so surprised? I'm pretty sure you knew already."

"Yeah, but it's totally different when it's actually confirmed and not just an assumption!"

"I guess I see your point." Even if it was confirmed, it was hard to believe that Kuroko and Murasakibara would date each other.

Kuroko was surprised at everyone's reactions to the news. "Everyone knew already?"

"Che, which one of us didn't?" Aomine asked. "You two were so obvious about it."

Midorima agreed, "Yes, it wasn't difficult to put two and two together."

Akashi smiled kindly and said, "We all congratulate you and Atsushi, Tetsuki."

Kuroko was glad that her friends were supportive of them. "Thank you."

"Thanks, Aka-chin." Murasakibara was glad, too. "Thanks, everyone."

l

During another lunch session, Murasakibara spoke, "Kuro-chin."

"Yes?"

"Let's go on a date on Saturday."

Kuroko was a little taken aback from the sudden declaration, but she agreed.

l

Kuroko blinked as she stared at the crowd of people in front of the entrance. In just a few minutes, the amusement park was going to open and the crowd would be pouring in. She asked, "An amusement park?"

"Yeah," Murasakibara answered, though a bit worried, "You don't like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it, I just didn't expect for us to got to an amusement park for our first date."

"I thought you would like it. Do you like amusement parks?"

"I don't remember much about them, actually. My parents used to take me to them when I was young, but that was a long time ago, so I don't really have any vivid memories of them."

Murasakibara smiled. "Then let's make new ones, ones that you will remember."

Kuroko made a tiny smile at that. "Okay."

l

Kuroko and Murasakibara strolled as they looked at the many rows of booths. They were either game booths or booths that you could buy food from. Murasakibara and Kuroko both bought some cotton candy and ate them while they walked.

Before, they had already went onto many of the rides in the park, such as a rollercoaster or on the tea-cup ride. Kuroko was having a lot of fun, and she couldn't stop the smile from appearing on her face as she chatted with Murasakibara.

Kuroko pointed at a specific booth. "Murasakibara-kun, look."

Murasakibara looked at where she was pointing and saw a booth that had a miniature basketball hoop.

The man that was in charge of the booth said, "Hello, there! Shoot as many balls into the hoop and get a prize!"

Murasakibara's eyes brightened at, and he asked Kuroko, "Do you want to play?"

"I do, but we both know the outcome already."

The man gave both Murasakibara and Kuroko some miniature basketballs, and they started to throw them and aimed for the hoop.

Murasakibara wasn't used to such small basketballs, so he missed twice, but he was able to get the rest of the throws in the hoop. Not surprisingly, Kuroko missed all of them.

"You're not good at shooting, Kuro-chin."

Kuroko would have pouted, but she kept a blank look on her face. She replied with indifference, "I'm sure everyone in the team already knew that."

"They do, but it kind of amazes me that you didn't get even one into the hoop."

"Murasakibara-kun, don't make me perform an ignite pass on you."

That frightened Murasakibara. Kuroko's passes were deadly. "Okay, okay, calm down, Kuro-chin." Murasakibara presented to her a giant teddy bear in his arms. "You can have this."

Kuroko remembered that Murasakibara won that prize from that game with the basketball hoop earlier. "But it's yours."

"But I don't need it. I have a lot of teddy bears at home."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Yeah, I also have a lot of other stuff animals. I don't think I have room for this big one here."

Kuroko shook her head. "I wouldn't mind taking it, but..." She looked away. "I don't think I'll be able to carry that very easily." The teddy bear was gigantic, almost as big as Kuroko. To her, it was as big as a person. She was going to have a tough time carrying it.

"It's fine," Murasakibara said, "After we leave the park, I'll carry this back to your home for you."

l

After that date was over, Murasakibara and Kuroko went to several dates together afterwards. They went to the movies, hanged out at the arcade, ate a meal at the café, and so much more.

Kuroko had a great time with Murasakibara, and she knew it was the same for him. They were happy together, and she found herself smiling much more than she was used to. She hoped that it stayed that way forever.

l

**Reviews are appreciated. I might write a sequel and put it in the next chapter. Not sure about it, but maybe. **


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